Work for New Mexico continues

Two Cents

As I reflect on the close of this election season, there is one thing above all that I want to tell the people of New Mexico's Second Congressional District: Thank you.

I am honored and humbled that New Mexicans have selected me to represent them in Congress for another two years, and I am thankful for the hard work, prayers, and encouragement of the countless New Mexicans who have offered me their support. Last week, I had the privilege of spending time with New Mexicans in twenty different communities. In that time, New Mexicans from Hobbs to Silver City warmly welcomed me into their communities and businesses. They crowded into coffee shops, city parks, and street corners to make sure their voice was heard, sharing their stories, their hopes, and their ideas.

Across the district, I found that New Mexicans are anxious for their country, their state, and their communities. They are concerned about keeping their jobs and the ability to feed their families. They are afraid of losing their freedoms - the values, personal responsibility, and individual liberties that made our country great. And they fear that their government seldom hears their concerns, that their voice is diminishing.

Laona Simmons, a lifelong Democrat from Deming, told me that she was switching her registration after decades as a Democrat.

"I grew up with morals, values, and discipline," she told me. "I was taught that these things are important. But now, I don't think the Democratic party is representing how I feel.

Advertisement

"

Unfortunately, Lona is not alone. Across the state, people have told me that the Democratic leaders controlling the White House and the Senate have moved away from the values they grew up with.

Another voter shared the story of how she and her husband retired to New Mexico from Massachusetts. She remembered as a child how many manufacturing jobs there used to be in her hometown, but shared with me that heavy taxes and overregulation that had pushed them all overseas.

She worries that cities all across America will become like her once-thriving hometown - full of empty storefronts and discouraged faces.

Unfortunately, the most common story I heard was that of the small business owner on the verge of closing down the family business, or the laid-off worker unable to find a new job. At chambers of commerce in Alamogordo, Artesia, and Las Cruces, I heard about heavy-handed taxes and regulations from Washington that are killing jobs and devastating communities. Small business owners told me that Obamacare and other new laws are forcing them to lay off employees, and that Washington continues to make it more difficult to create jobs.

Despite all this, I return to Washington hopeful for our future, because New Mexicans remain hopeful - even as they face high taxes and unemployment, and even as Washington wages a war on their freedoms and their way of life. We are struggling, but we aren't beaten. From roustabouts in Hobbs to ranchers in Catron County, the people remain proud - proud of their values and work ethic, proud of what they've built, and proud to be Americans. And because of that, I'm proud to continue representing New Mexico in Congress.

My marching orders have come straight from the people of New Mexico, and they couldn't be clearer. Not a single young New Mexican I've talked to wants to grow up to live on welfare. No parent wants that for their kids. They simply want the freedom to work hard, to worship and live as they see fit, and to take responsibility for their actions. I am confident that if Washington will give back the freedoms and bring back the manufacturing jobs we desperately need, we will hear stories of struggle turn into stories of success, and watch stories of fear become stories of hope.

Thank you for the honor of representing you in Washington. And above all, thank you for inspiring me.